Picking a Successor

The head of Caymus Vineyards is trying to pass it all on in a smart way.

Chuck Wagner, 61, is the Napa Valley vintner who, working alongside his father, transformed the family's 73-acre farm of prunes, walnuts, and grapes into Caymus Vineyards, one of the nation's most revered wineries. But now, as he finishes gathering up his 41st harvest, Chuck is intently focused on passing Caymus on to his four children -- in a calm and enlightened way. That's because his entry into the wine business nearly half a century earlier transpired under very different circumstances. Chuck was just a high-school freshman when an ex-employee with addiction issues took a 22-caliber rifle and shot his father,...